Frag tank setup - could this work?

[ChadO]

Hello folks,

 

I have a "fish room" in my house where I run freshwater tanks (I raise ornamental shrimp) as well as my saltwater QT. My BioCube 29 is downstairs where the family can enjoy it.

 

I have an open space on one of my racks where I have been contemplating setting up a frag tank. The tank I would use is a 30 gallon AGA (36 1/4" L x 12.5" W x 16 3/4" H). I have an available Eheim 2217 canister filter, ability to buy any Aquaclear filter on a good discount (I was considering a 70 or 110), and a 24 LED RapidLED solderless kit light that I was going to use for a previous SW tank that never materialized. The light is built, tested, but never hung. It has 12 RB, and 12 CW lights to be driven by Meanwell 48Ds.

 

So, the initial thought was to get an AC filter, and run it with MarinePure block or the 1.5" balls in it. I also considered having live rock in the tank, and then maybe mod'ing the AC filter as you would for a "mini-reef" setup. Then, I started wondering if I couldn't use the Eheim 2217 that I have, and just run live rock/rubble in it, and nothing else. I see lots of discussion around concerns of nitrates and canister filters, but it seems that's when the goal is to be running a full reef system with fish, hence a largish bioload that needs to be managed. In my case, I'm looking to house a more modest amount of frags, and no plans for any fish - unless needed for the benefit of the frag tank, but not something that would be seen.

 

I'm not tied to any one way of doing this (AC or canister + some combination), but since this tank would be sitting on the bottom shelf of my rack setup, a sump setup is out of the question. The best way to think this through, I guess, is if you were going to set up this more modest sized frag tank, and had an AC filter or canister available, what would be the suggested route that you go about setting it up?

 

For the frag corals, kind of looking at the Zoas, LPS, and other more "starter" stuff. I don't want to get into dosing and lots of extra supplemental stuff to make this work at this point. I just want to let it start small and grow with my abilities. I do have good patience. :-)

 

Any thoughts out there?

 

Thanks!

Chad

[Rural]

good to see you. get started! start an aquarium journal thread and start sharing.

 

anything is possible!

[pntbll687]

I use a canister for my 25g reef with fish, its a marineland c220 and is easy as could be. Just did the first cleaning on it this weekend after six months of use. Easy to set up, easy to clean, even has a quick disconnect for the in/out valves for easy transport when cleaning. Don't believe all the hype on canisters being "nitrate factories". I have 6 fish, aprox 10 snails, 10-15 hermits, and corals. The canister was pretty clean after six months of use. Was there some detritous in the bottom, yes. Was it an un godly amount, no.

 

If your going for frag tank with maybe a fish or two, you should have no problems at all using a canister. As long as you maintain consistent water changes and test parameters every couple of weeks you will be fine.

 

As far as media in the canister, mine goes from bottom to top 1) coarse filter pad, 2) chemipure elite, 3) bio balls, 4) ceramic pieces. I may at some point switch out the ceramic for live rock at some point, but that's just splitting hairs at this point.

[ChadO]

Thanks guys! I appreciate the info. I'm going to go forward and give it a try. I'll get a journal thread going as well.

Thanks again!

[ajmckay]

IMO frag tank is all about balance and consistency...

 

For soft corals having a fish would probably help as they like nutrients in the water - but so does growth-limiting nuisance algae.

 

So while I think a fish is a good idea it's important not to have too many either. I would be conservative at first and only add 1 fish, then maybe get a bottle of seachem nitrate (FW fertilizer) and very gradually dose as a way to fine tune the level of nutrients in the frag tank. If you find you're dosing a lot and not noticing any algae growth you could add another fish or something.

 

Hehe note that this is just an idea - it makes sense to me but I don't think it's a common practice (to dose nitrates). It is pretty common to plumb frag tanks into larger systems though and there's no doubt that many soft corals benefit from and grow best in an environment rich in nutrients. So the key seems to be finding that balance of maximizing coral growth while not allowing nuisance algae to take hold.

 

I would also mention that inspecting frags before putting them into the frag tank is probably important. Scrape/brush/peroxide off any nuisance algae or pests.